


Children of Ender

by Friskey_Fresh



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adding tags just because, Angst, Angst and Fluff, Children of Ender, Fantasy, Fluff, Friskey_Fresh, Holy Mother of Platypus, Hybrid - Freeform, I dont know what to tag, Minecraft, Multi, Roleplay, TechnoBlade, TommyInnit - Freeform, Tubbo - Freeform, Wilbur Soot - Freeform, dream - Freeform, georgenotfound - Freeform, philza - Freeform, sapnap - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:54:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29015424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Friskey_Fresh/pseuds/Friskey_Fresh
Summary: Living as a hybrid has never been something acceptable by society, especially when you don't know what kind of hybrid you are. Dream found that out in the hard way. So when he was saved by George and Sapnap and met other hybrids like him, he wanna learn what kind of hybrid he is, and how to live a life he has lost long ago, while trying to keep everyone safe from the people who wanted them all dead.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 90





	1. The Boy In The Cage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream almost lose all hope after being kept in a cage for a long time, until someone gives him one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, my fresh looking strangers! How y'all doin?  
> Quick reminder, this is my first ever fanfiction I wrote, and I don't speak english so you'll very likely found a bunch of grammar error that you wanna poke your eyes to end the suffering. I made this fic after i saw a fanart of the DSMP members as hybrid and fell in love with that concept. Anywho, you're free to share this with your friends, nothing brings me joy than to have people reading it. But please keep in mind, DO NOT upload it on other sites or took credit for my creation. That being said, enjoy, and stay fresh!

Their eyes gazed at him with disgust from outside of the rectangular cage, saying the same thing from their expression that he could read easily. Dirty. Smell. Should’ve just rot in hell. Nothing new that he could see, and as far as he could tell, it was just as normal as he could remember. Perhaps it was for his own good that he didn’t expect any sudden changes within those eyes. Perhaps it was better that those eyes stay filled with disgust and hatred.

Every inch of his body ached when he moved. Rustling sound of the chain when he moved his limbs startled anyone close to the cage, followed by a shot of anger from their eyes. The smell of sweat and piss mixed with the smell of blood flowing from his wounds, never to be treated by them. It wasn’t that long since his last beating up session with the guards. Whips and kicks for an hour long, he was being lucky.

He curled up into a ball, pulling every part of his body as close as possible. He bit his lips when his hand brushed on a newly made wound. Even under the sun his blood felt warmer, and he couldn’t tell if it means a good thing or a bad thing. From the small gap between his closed eyes, he saw the wooden bowl of his food still untouched, that is if you can call whatever’s in there edible. It smells like vomit and tastes like a rat carcass.

He knows how they tasted.

With only a tattered dirty brown pants as his only clothing, the sun scorched his skin inside the cage, and the iron floor of the cage slowly grilled him. He couldn’t tell which is sweat and which is blood; all feels the same. And as painful as this time of day is for him, it was in fact his favorite time of the day. No one walked around to see him, to give those eyes at him, to even care about him. But sometimes, there are people who were being so kind to accompany him under the scorching sun, bringing a variety of tools along with them.

Two people standing over him, their shadows covered a part of his head. He tried not to look, but it’s harder not to think what kind of treatment he’ll get from them. He peeked, and saw two boys looking at him with a grin on their faces. One of them is skinny and short, and the other is tall and fat. Other than how they’re able to look like an old hag and also a snotty brat at the same time, their similarity is that they both bring a long stick with something sharp on the tip of it.

The short boy, Shorty he would call, kicked the cage, surprisingly stronger than his looks. “Hey, look. Who knew the myth was actually true?” Shorty’s voice is high pitch, and when he laughed, it was worse than any torture he ever endured.

The bigger boy, Biggy, snuffed his nose. “It’s no longer a myth if there were some cases like this before. Herobrine, on the other hand,  _ is _ a myth.”

Shorty hit him in the stomach, but there appears to have no effect. “Shut up, dunce head!” he shouted. His eyes back onto the cage. “What I give to be able to hunt down one myself.”

“Dead or alive?”

“Alive, of course!” His voice filled with pride. “I’ll drag them to the capital and offer myself to personally execute them. The king will finally see me and points me as his personal knight.”

Biggy laughed, which caused Shorty to smack him with the stick. Then he stopped and looked at his stick before turning back to the cage.

“You know, you accursed rat. You should consider yourself lucky that this village is the one that captured you.” He kneeled next to the cage, his face close to the cage but pulled back when he smelled the piss and blood. “Whenever creeps like you got captured, they will be sent to the capital immediately to be executed. But here? We allowed you to stay alive. We even feed you. So now, be a good one and show me your face, and i want you to thank me, as a representative of this village.”

He didn’t bother obeying that boy. He knew, whether he did it or not, that stick would be used, one way or another. How it’s gonna be used is a different story, but it won't be far from what he imagined.

A sudden sharp pain on his side almost made him scream. Warm blood flowed onto the iron floor, then another pain on the leg. It was not deep. The stick was purely made for tormenting.

Shorty pulled his stick from the cage, his face red with fury. “Don’t take my patience for granted, you dirty fuck!” He stabbed him again on the shoulder. “When I tell you to do something, you do it!” The next stab stabbed him on his exposed stomach.

By each stab that he felt, his mind fell deeper into the corner of head, where it felt quiet and peaceful even through the rain of pain that he felt. He knew he wouldn’t die, and he knew no one would bother to save him. They all probably somewhere not far, watching in joy as those two boys—well, only one—tormenting him.

No use in screaming. No use in begging. No use in hoping for anything. He just needs to accept everything and throw away all hope and dream.

He scoffed.

_ Ironic _ .

Then, something hard hits the cage. Was it rock, did they switch into a new tool for him? But he didn’t have to wait long to get an answer.

“Scram, you brats! Go back to your houses!” The voice of a man that sounds like he needs a gallon of water. One of the warden of the village jail. His personal guard.

Those two boys ran, but not before hitting him in the head with the back of the stick. As his consciousness came back to the real world, all of the pain he received made a report to his brain. He bit his lips, preventing any noise coming out of it, even the slightest whimper.

The man stood over him. This time, he looked up. His brown warden uniform was wet, and a strong scent of alcohol stung the nose. Did this man really get drunk in broad daylight?

The warden sniffed while staring at him. His eyes examining his body from the other side of the cage, clearly happy and proud. His hand swept around his belt, stopped for a moment on the black leather whip on his waist. The sight of it stiffened the boys’ body.

“This baby girl here did a very good job, indeed.” The warden patted his whip. “No worry, I’ll make sure you can play with her again tomorrow. Until then, hold your excitement.” The warden grinned wickedly. He spat on him before leaving him alone under the sun.

The boy in the cage curled into a smaller ball, going back into the corner of his head. He was right; no use in screaming, begging, or hoping for anything. He just needs to accept everything and throw away all hope and dream.

What a painful irony, he thought to himself. He needed to throw away his own dream. His own name. Dream.

He peeked at his own arm. Dark purple patches covered a part of his skin like scales. His tail was cut off long ago before he even ended up in this cage. There’s nothing of him that anyone could call normal.

Perhaps it was for the better. If he throws everything away, then maybe, just maybe, the end comes sooner for a hybrid like him.

***

Days gone by and nothing changed, other than a new collection of wounds and scars, and a new disgusting food that even flies would die if they tasted it. The warden woke him up, beat him up, short break, another beating, bath time by splashing a bucket of water onto him, into the cage, food, public shaming, back to the other cage, light beating, then sleep.

_ Wait _ , Dream thought. As he paid a closer look, there was indeed something changed and new. The bowl is from birch wood, it's no longer spruce!

He smirked, but it didn’t last long. The reason he’s not moving his body is not to ease the pain, but because he couldn’t. His last beating up session put a lot of strain on his joints that it felt like thousands of needles piercing him by the slightest movement, and a number of purple bruises blended with his purple scales.

One would say, living inside a cage like that must be so freaking boring. It was, indeed, boring, but that doesn’t mean there is no entertainment. Dream’s hybrid gifted him with an enhanced hearing, he could focus his sense of hearing to listen to people’s conversation.

It’s by pure luck if there were anything worth listening. Most of them either talking about the economy and politics, mocking whatever they could mock about the king, or about their kids being a total brat. But sometimes there are things worth listening to. A woman cheating on her husband, a boy sharing his secret stash, a girl who accidently killed her friend’s goldfish. But today was something special, the topic was quite intriguing.

“I heard the Plaingrass village got raided,” said a rough sounding man.

“Plaingrass? That’s just a few hours ride from here.” A man with a softer voice sounded terrified. “Shouldn’t we evacuate then?”

“We don’t need to,” said the rough man. “Plaingrass was near a Pillager Outpost. We often patrol the forest and we see no outpost. We’re safe like a baby surrounded by knights.”

“And like you said, its a few hours ride from here,” said a woman, “They’re not gonna waste their time just to raid us, unless they’re crazy.”

“But we  _ just _ captured a captain! They will very likely come to get him.”

“Then we can just give them that hybrid.” The rough man laughed, hurting Dream’s ears. “They’re worth a lot of money. Wonder why we haven’t sold him yet.”

The rest of the conversation was cut off when Dream’s body stiffened by the man’s words. Sold. Given to another person again. A new form of abuse that God knows if he could endure it or not. Every terrible thing he could imagine just rushing in and filled his head with fear and anxiety.

His heart beating so hard it caused the wound on his chest throbbing again. He tried going to the corner of his head again, but the pain was too much to keep a clear head. And his stomach couldn’t keep quiet since morning. If wounds could not kill him, then hunger will.

Dream closed his eyes and thought back to as far as he could, to a day before his life turned into a living hell. Everything was blurry and foggy, but he remembered how it felt. The warmth. The joy. The peace. He remembered a little girl who played with him, with a cat that he adores. A field of a thousand flowers where the wind sang a song of nature. A group of children laughing in the golden dusk.

His body jerked up by a loud noise not far from the cage. It was a terrible act, because he almost screamed when every inch of his body felt the pain. Through the cloud of pain, he set his ears wide and listened to what was going on. All of the noise was mixed into rambling, but he got the gist of what’s going on: a fight.

He couldn’t care less with that. Fights happened quite often, but rarely near him. It’s even rarer that the fight caused so much commotion that the warden himself needed to get to the place.

“Hey.” Dream heard someone speaking. “You’re still alive right?”

He peeked through his overly long bangs and saw someone in a brown cloak standing in front of him. The first thing that came to his mind was his bonus beating up session with the villagers. At least it was not Shorty and Biggy, those two are such a laughing stock for him.

Carefully, he examined that guy, to see if he brought anything to hurt him, and he found a sword sheathed on his waist. He never met anyone who used a sword on him, so this guy must be dedicated enough to actually bring one. Dream wondered if that sword was just gonna be another instrument to hurt him or to finish him off.

That guy kneeled when a loud smack was heard behind the cage and the warden cursing, probably got hit. Dream finally got a better look at that guy. His hair is black and skin as white as the snow in his hometown, wearing hunter clothing with a goggle around his neck. He looked exactly like how the person who’ll execute him is gonna look like in his imagination, just a lot smaller.

Dream’s attention was captured when the guy put his hand under his cloak and pulled something out. A smaller tool to use before the main one? Most likely.

But instead, he pulled out a small piece of bread. Whole, not molding, as far as he could see. And he even put it near him.

“Eat up, before they found out.” His voice was soft, almost felt like a whisper in his ears. Either it was that kind of voice or Dream’s ears are just that sharp.

Dream stared at him in suspicion. Is the bread poisoned, was the first thing that came into mind, but there’s no way that anyone will be so merciful and give him a peaceful death like this. But being suspicious didn’t stop his stomach from going wild. Even if its poisoned and will kill him, at least it’ll stop his suffering right there and then.

He took the bread, it was surprisingly warm. Freshly baked aroma filled his nose as he put it to his mouth. His stomach went even wilder, he didn’t bother to chew it and took a few bite and swallowed it whole. The stomach went calmer, even though it still demanded more.

He captured a faint smile from the hunter’s face, but disappeared as fast as it appeared. The hunter glanced at the fight that had calmed down, but the warden has yet to come back. He leaned as close as he could and whispered at him.

“Hang on until tonight, we’ll get you out of here.”

Lightning struck inside his chest. He’ll save him? He’ll get him out of this cage?

_ Throw away all hope and dreams _ .

Dream frowned and closed his eyes. It must be a lie, a trap. They’ll release him and bring him to another place for their own amusement. Could very well be worse than this cage. Could be an even worse hell.

“Lie,” Dream spoke, surprised by his own voice. His voice is so hoarse it’s a miracle he could speak. “You’re a liar.”

The hunter went silent for a moment. He grabbed the cage bars and pushed his face as far as he could between the gap, as close as he could to Dream.

“You don’t need to trust me. You just need to hang on until tonight. When I said we’ll save you, we will.” Dream peeked when the hunter stood up and left him. The fight was over and everything went back to how it was.

Footsteps approached the cage and he saw the warden glaring at him. His mouth frowned, indicating a very bad thing going to happen to him, but seeing how messed up he looked was a refreshment to the eyes.

The warden grabbed the iron bar tightly and he grinned. “Seems you just got a friendly visit,” he said. “Well, I’m currently very pissed. So why don’t you share your story with me tonight?”

The warden left him alone with a familiar anxiety in his heart, but for some reason he felt worse than he expected. He’s waiting for the night to come, but wished it never come at the same time. The words of that hunter echoed inside his head, like a broken record playing the same thing over and over again.

_ Am I trusting him? _ He questioned himself.  _ Will my life actually be better? Can I hope for such a thing? _

Then, he stopped. He knew it can’t be that easy, to regain hope, to regain a life that’s normal. A normal life had never been an option to him. A normal life is a luxury that a hybrid like him could never be allowed to dream of. That hunter must be wanting to sell him to some other places who are willing to pay a great amount of money.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as his mind slowly went back into the corner, and the night approaches as times goes by.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey, you made it this far! Thank you for reading, hope it wasn't too dark or something, or if i should've add more warnings on the story (This is my first post here, I dont know how everything works here). Alrighty then, may we see each other again in the next chapter. Eat your veggies and stay fresh


	2. The Burning Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night of Dream's supposed freedom has come, but its burning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, my fresh looking strangers! How y'all doin?  
> I'm honestly surprised people read this and gave kudos. Like, holy mother of platypus, thank you so much. Now, grab some snacks and water for the angst journey y'all about to have. Yeehaw!

The night fell along with the silence that covered the whole village, even the market that always filled with people now only filled with rat noise. The dim light of the road lantern barely lit up the road, but the light from inside the houses that shone bright in the dark felt warm to the sight. But that was not the case at the jail.

The jail located in two different places: the normal one located in the village, and another one for the worst crime, such as murder, located in the far most building of the village, but not over the wheat field. Even if Dream never did any form of criminal activity, his existence as a hybrid was enough to consider him as one. It was a grim place for a village like this, for any village that existed. In the darkness of night when the world is silent, that place alone was still awake.

Dream tried to keep his eyes closed, but the scream of the other criminals kept him awake. Whatever they’re going through couldn’t be worse than what he just went through. The fresh wounds on his back from the whip gave a new throb of pain every second and new bruises covered him more than the dark purple scales. He wondered if there’s still any part of his body with a healthy skin, especially his back.

He looked up at the chain cuffs on his hands. They put him back into the cage instead of his cell. He had a hunch on what was about to happen next, but wait until someone came to him.

While waiting for his fate, he looked up to the night sky where the stars took it over. The moon had gone away since last week, and probably gonna appear in a few days. Such a calming view for him, even when the wind howled, bringing deathly chill that bit him to the bones.

His stomach grumbled, followed by a sharp pain on his side, interrupting his precious moment of peace. Dinner was never a thing here, and any food that was given to them can barely even be called edible. He touched his ribs and could feel the bones poking out from his skin. He’s reminded by the fresh, warm bread he ate before. How he wished he could eat that again now.

He found himself thinking about the noon event, about that hunter. _When I said we’ll save you, we will_ , that was what he told Dream. He wouldn’t let himself hanging on to those words, because those words are like the stars tonight. Too beautiful to be true. But somehow those words haunted him restlessly. As if he actually believed those words. As if he believed that it’ll end his cycle of misery.

A door was slammed shut followed by a man laughing while shouting so much profanity that it could turn a child’s brain to rot. It was one of the guards, not the warden. A stupid lackey who could barely make a sentence when drunk, but somehow still functioning normally. He approached the cage, grinning at Dream in an overly creepy way.

“You heard that last scream, right? Yeah, I did that.” He laughed, the smell of alcohol stabbed Dream’s nose. “I’m getting better at these stuffs. The warden said I’ll get to play with you if I could make the next criminal screams louder. That lousy ass will kiss my foot when I succeed.”

He moved to the other side of the cage and picked the chain attached to the cage, pulling him away from the jail.

“I don’t know what you did to him, but you sure pissed him off. Now he wants you to sleep in the exhibition center tonight. And let me tell you, it’ll get quite chilly when it hits midnight.”

Dream expected this. That’s why they didn’t clean him with water after beating him up. Being wet means the cold will kill him, so they let the blood as the only thing to keep him warm.

He stared at the stars up above, moving along with him, along the gravelly road beneath him. At least he could still watch the stars in the village. His silent companions.

Wooden roofs from buildings slowly joined the view of the sky as the gravelly road changed into carved stone road. The lights from the lantern and building captured his attention from the sky with its warm sight. He never bothered opening his eyes whenever they brought him to the village from the jail because he would have to see people’s faces. But at night where many of them are inside, he finally saw everything.

They passed by houses, built by different material, with a variety of plants. Closed stores with words that he couldn’t read, where some had a huge glass that shows what they sold, from a bunch of ceramic, clothes for women, and books. But one store stands out the most even without anything to show, because their smell was familiar.

A bakery. The smell of fresh, warm bread filled his nose. His stomach ached by thinking about it. How hard does he need to beg just to get one piece of that bread?

The cage stopped along with his imagination of bread, in a place he couldn’t get anymore familiar with. The lackey stretched his body and drank from a bottle that Dream didn’t notice he brought.

The lackey coughed like a dying man. “This stuff tastes like shit, but better than nothing.” He turned around to Dream and leaned on the cage. “You want some? We’re not the best of friend, but it’s just sad to drink alone like this.”

Dream didn’t answer. He should’ve.

His back burned with sharp pain when the lackey poured the alcohol on him. The sudden strike of pain completely silenced him, left him twitching in pain inside the cage, while the lackey seemed to enjoy the sight.

“That’s more like it. Sharing is caring, don’t you agree?” he said. “Ah, shit, I shouldn’t have done that. Now I only have a little left.” He drank that bottle up like his life depended on it, and not a minute passed, he throwed up like an upside-down fountain.

He tried his best but he failed to stop himself from whimpering. He bit his fingers to prevent himself from crying; he knew he would cry. Dream had cried before in the village when he thought he had the worst, and the punishment was severe. But pain from his fingers were not enough, he needed more distraction.

“Hey, bud.”

Dream followed the sound and saw the lackey swaying while he’s standing, but something felt wrong.

“Hey, bud. You seeing this?” He pointed at a roof.

Dream sure he was too drunk to even know what was real and what was not, but he followed where he pointed at to distract himself. His eyes searching through the dark spots of the roof, looking for something that doesn’t exist. And then, he started questioning himself if he was also drunk.

On one of the wooden roof, he saw a small figure perching on the edge. It was smaller than a child, and he wasn’t sure if it were perching or not. On his back, there’s something like a tattered cloak. No, not cloak—those are wings! And that figure started to float a few inches from the roof, with something on its hand.

It happened so fast that he didn’t know what was going on until the aftermath. The figure was gone in a blink of an eye, and as Dream searched where’d it go, he stopped on the lackey. His hands are on his right shoulder with some liquid flowing down.

Blood.

The lackey’s eyes widened in fear while the flying figure floated behind him. It was a small skeletal figure with height of a baby at least, its eyes glowing white, with tattered wings on its back and a sword on its right hand. That creature stared at the lackey blankly, while the lackey pulled out a wooden stick and started beating the cage.

“Vex! It’s a vex!” the lackey screamed. “Raiders are coming! Raiders are co—”

The flying creature—the vex—floated in front of the lackey with its sword dripping red blood to the stone road, then a loud rumbling came, along with the villagers coming out of their houses. Dream sure he was not dreaming when for the first time since he was brought to this village, everyone screamed in fear.

***

Fire spread faster than he could take a grasp of what was going on. How the silence turned into chaos. How the night turned into day by the fire. How the cold he felt immediately disappear as if it were never there.

Dream never had any reason to push himself up from the cage floor, and he couldn’t waste his energy for a trivial act like that. But now, with what’s left of his strength, he struggled himself to get up from the iron floor. He wanted to see what was going on. He needed to see it for himself. As he turned his face to the village, he was left speechless.

Everything was set ablaze. People wearing black robes bringing a variety of deadly weapons and torches to spread more fire. Flaming arrows raining down on the building, even more destruction to this small village. One of the black robed people raised his hands and those Vexes appeared out of nowhere. The villagers—men, women, even children—ran all around, scattered like ants, while being hunted down by those black robed raiders.

From the corner of his eyes, Dream caught a glimpse of a familiar figure: the warden. He and a few other men fought back with weapons and anything available. Though they succeeded in killing a few of the raiders, they were easily outnumbered and annihilated. The warden’s body fell not far from the cage, and by the light of the fire, Dream saw a bunch of keys on the warden’s body.

His hope to escape. If the keys are with the warden, that means the hunter failed or was in fact lying about saving him. As things stand at that moment, none of that matters. Dream could reach the keys. He could make his own escape.

He put his hand through the gap of the cage, but not even an inch after his wrist got out, he was stuck. The cuffs were holding him in place, preventing him from reaching the keys, and extinguished his hope once more.

But then, someone snatched the key. That person approached the cage, and with a loud click the cage was opened. That person in a hurry unlocked all of the cuffs and the collar on his neck, releasing Dream from his shackles.

The sudden weightlessness he felt on his limbs felt unreal that he almost cried. He’s freed. After months inside the cage, he’s finally free. Dream looked up, for a second thinking that the hunter actually came, but even with the face hidden by darkness, he knew it was not the hunter.

That person grabbed Dream’s hair and violently pulled him out from the cage. His back hit the ground, and with all the chaos going on around them, he didn’t hold back when he screamed out the pain. With no strength left within him, he couldn’t do anything when that person lifted him up by his hair.

“We have a hybrid!” That person’s voice was cracked and shaky, but Dream knew it was the voice of one of the people that he eavesdropped a few days ago when they’re talking about raiders.

That statement made some of those raiders stopped and turned to him. The swords and axes dripping red blood to the ground. The archers—bows and crossbows—aimed their weapon to that man. The vexes floated around them, waiting for an order.

“You know that hybrids worth a lot of money in the Capital, right?” The man continued. “Take him and leave us. Please.” His hand lost his grip on the hair and Dream dropped onto the ground.

The atmosphere got thicker and it drowned out the chaos around them. It was an eternity waiting for each second pass while the world around them was still burning. Dream was not attempting to crawl away, a futile act that might worsen his fate.

One of the raiders—a man with a crossbow and a banner on his back—laughed. “I take that you wanna bargain with us?” His tone is light and friendly, like talking to an old friend. “I must say it is a tempting one. Indeed, the Capital will pay a lot of money for hybrids of any kind, in any condition as long as they’re alive.” He gazed at Dream on the ground. “Barely alive included.”

Dream’s heart beating fast. These guys gave him a bad feeling. Being with them could only mean an even worse fate, and that’s not death. He gave everything he had to push himself up and run away, but he couldn’t even get up. He closed his eyes, not even bothered at this point. If he could get his hand on one of the weapons, even an arrow, he could end his life there to stop the cycle.

He waited for the next thing to happen, but all he heard was something heavy like a bag of flour fell to the ground. He opened his eyes and saw the raider with the banner aimed his crossbow with a wicked grin on his face.

“The bargain was interesting, but I’ll take both the village and the hybrid.” The other raiders laughed along with him. That man turned around and walked away. “You two, put him back into the cage. The rest of you take everything you see and burn this place down! We’re going to the Capital tomorrow!” Loud cheers echoed through the burning night.

Two of the raiders approached him. Even without the axes on their hand, they’re more than menacing. Dream panicked. He don’t wanna be taken anywhere anymore. He wanted it all to end. He’d rather have everything ended.

One of the hands grabbed his arm and a sudden surge of strength came out of nowhere. He used that strength to fight back, struggle as hard as he could. He could feel his nails scratched something and keep on fighting back. Maybe if he’s proven to be a nuisance, they’ll change their mind and kill him instead.

In the midst of his struggle, something hard hit the back of his head. The world went black by the sight of the body of the raider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey, what's up y'all? I actually think this chapter needs more angst and pain, but I kinda feel bad for Dream (nope, not me being lazy adding more stuffs, nope). Anyway, hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Alrighty then, may we see each other again in the next chapter. Stay hydrated and stay fresh!


	3. A Wounded Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream finds himself being saved by two strangers that he doesn't know whether he can trust them or not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, my fresh looking strangers! How y'all doin?  
> I just found out that cats blink slower at you when they trust you. Its purr-fectly cute (Why do i even bother with the pun?). Anyway, enjoy the chapter y'all!

The night was still burning with those vexes flying around, killing everyone they see. Those black robed raiders swung their swords and axes on those villagers. Flaming arrows raining down on them, burning even more buildings. The scream of the villagers deafened Dream’s ears, but despite that he could hear the ominous sound of footsteps from the dark figure in front of him.

Dark aura emitted from that figure, slowly approaching him with a giant sword being dragged towards him. Each step he took felt like being stabbed by a knife. Dream tried to scream but no sound came out from his mouth. He needed to run, but it just made him realize that he couldn’t. His arms spreaded and chained from the dark abyss around him, and his legs are chained to the ground of skulls.

His heart racing in his chest and pain burned in every inch of his body. Every step that figure took made the pain even worse that, if he could, Dream would’ve screamed his lungs out. He pulled the chains as hard as he could with an unrealistic expectation to break free. But the more he pulled it, the chains felt like getting stronger it almost broke his wrists.

The dark figure got closer and closer, raised his giant sword, summoning hundreds of vexes from behind him. The vexes’ mouth widened in a twisted and grotesque way, white liquid dripping from their mouth, and they laughed in a distorted way. In a single flap of their wings, they flew towards Dream and stabbed their swords into him. Their laugh echoed inside Dream’s head as more and more of those swords stabbed him.

***

Sweats running down from his forehead, stuck on the bangs of his long dirty blond hair. The first thing he felt was intense pain all over his body, then he was filled with confusion when the realization that he’s laying face down and no longer in a cage hit him. His eyes wandered as far as they could, scanning the environment.

He’s laying on a thick red fabric that felt fuzzy. Thick dust covering the wooden floor almost as thick as the fabric under him. Sunlight came through a gap and shined on the wooden shelf in front of him where an orange cat sat and staring at him with curiosity.

Sunlight. Furniture. A cat. He was inside a house. A home.

_ I must be dead _ , he thought to himself. But the cat then jumped and landed in front of him, sniffing his face. It’s nose lightly brushed with Dream’s nose, sending a ticklish sensation that felt strange to him. He’s alive, and it was not a pleasant reality for him.

Dream lifted his hand to the cat, despite being stiff and painful to move it. The cat sniffed his fingers and rubbed it’s head on the bandaged hand. His eyes followed where the bandages go before realizing that the fuzzy feeling he felt was from the bandages all over his body.

Someone saved him. Who, he asked himself, right when a creaking sound echoed in the room. By reflex, he jolted himself away and hit the wall. Something hard fell and break, and a loud gasp filled the room, but it wasn’t from him.

“Don’t move just yet! Are you stupid?”

Dream felt two hands grab his arm that felt familiar. The hands from that night. Those raiders. He’s with them! He flailed his arms and smacked the raider’s face, and he once again fell to the floor. Through the curtain of dirty blond bangs, he looked at what was, in fact, not a raider. It was that hunter.

That hunter rubbed his cheek. Even in the minimal light that house had, Dream could see his snow white cheek redden at where he hit him.

“Man, you’re stronger than you look,” said the hunter, walking towards him.

Dream tensed up and immediately scanned everything that hunter had. A bow on his fingerless gloved hand, a quiver full of arrows on his back, a sling bag, and a goggle around his neck. He almost relaxed a bit until the hunter moved his arm, giving Dream a quick glimpse on a small dagger on his waist. Immediately, his body tensed up again.

His trembling hand rubbed the floor in panic, looking for something to use as a weapon. He grabbed a piece of a broken vase that he dropped when he jolted and pointed it at the hunter.

“Don’t come any closer!” Dream threatened him with a hoarse voice. His hands couldn’t stop trembling. “Stay away from me!”

The hunter’s eyes widened and, surprisingly, he listened to Dream. Slowly, he put his bow down, took off his quiver, and raised his hands to show he’s unarmed. He gets down on his knees, not making eye contact.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” He lifted his gaze but did not make eye contact. His eyes stared at the bloody bandage on Dream’s body, still fresh. “Let me treat your wound.”

“I don’t need treatment.” Dream immediately answered. “Never need that.”

The two of them nearly jumped when the door was kicked open. A young man with white headband dressed like the hunter dropped a wooden box on the floor. The orange cat hissed at him, but he hissed back, silencing the cat.

The hunter with white headband groaned when he stretched his body. “How long does it take to check someone’s wound?” You could’ve helped me with these stuffs.”

“Sapnap, please be quiet.”

The hunter called Sapnap raised an eyebrow. His eyes widened in interest when he saw Dream already woke up and pointing a piece of the broken vase at him. A wide grin carved on his face.

“Just woke up and ready to fight? Alright, I’ll play with you.” He cracked his knuckles, grinning with satisfaction when Dream looked even more terrified.

“Sapnap, please leave if you can’t be quiet.” The hunter shot a deathly glare at Sapnap, which he laughed it off.

“C’mon, George. How can this guy give you trouble?” asked Sapnap. “I can beat him up with both of my hands tied and blindfolded with no problem.”

“It’s not about that, you idiot,” said the hunter named George. “And that’s kinky.”

Sapnap made an inhuman noise that scared the orange cat away. Dream considered it as scary too, but he was more terrified by what that guy said: he could beat him up.

Dream quickly examined Sapnap and noticed a sword on his waist. His heart beating fast at the sight of it. He pushed himself away from the two hunters until his wounded back pressed against the wall. He bit his lips to stop himself from screaming, but it made him drop the piece of broken vase.

Through the mist of pain, he heard footsteps approaching him. Reactively, he swung his arm and punched the air, making a sound as inhuman as Sapnap’s but more terrifying. Fighting back for anything that would happen next, doesn’t matter what that’s gonna be but he was sure it’s not something good. If they're gonna hurt him, he’s gonna hurt them first.

George backed up, looking at Sapnap who stared back at him, both confused with what they should do. They're dealing with a human who acted like a wounded beast. The more they try to approach him, the more he’ll fight back. Then, George opened his sling bag and pulled out a small pouch and put it on the floor.

“Okay, we’ll leave you alone. But at least don’t move around too much yet, okay?” He stood up after he took something out of his sling bag and put it on the floor: a small pouch. “I’ll come back later to bring you food and water. Don’t lay down on your back too. And it’s almost night time, so please don’t go out or open the door if someone’s knocking.”

Dream was frozen still even after George and Sapnap left him alone. He couldn’t trust them. They’ll take him to some place to sell him, then he’ll be taken to an even worse place. They treated his wounds to raise his price. That must be it.

His eyes fell onto the pouch on the floor. Carefully, he reached for it and sniffed it, checking if it’s anything weird, but all he smelled was a sour sweet scent. He opened it up and inside the pouch was fresh red berries.

His mouth watered like crazy, and his stomach grumbling like a volcano. He hadn’t had fruit in ages. At best, someone from the village once gave him a rotten apple when he’s in the cage, and he was punished for receiving such luxury.

He took one berry, hesitant to put it into his mouth, but the sweet smell of the berry overwhelmed his nose that he couldn’t care what punishment that he might get. He bit it, and the sour yet sweet taste stung his tongue in the most pleasant way. So juicy and sweet that he felt something warm sliding down his cheeks: tears.

One by one, he put those berries into his mouth. It wasn’t just red berries. Black and blue, in many sizes and shapes, giving a different sweetness with each bite. It was not enough to fill his belly, but tears of joy never stopped flowing.

He’s alive. Tomorrow he might be in another place where he’ll spend his life getting beaten up, or used as entertainment, or both. He’s terrified, but that thought didn’t stop him from being grateful for that moment.

The orange cat came back and nudges it’s head to Dream. It purred louder when Dream scratched it’s head. As soon as the orange cat left him, another wave of pain from his back came crashing through, paralyzing him on the floor. No scream, as usual, but he whimpered. 

He stared at his left hand. Between the gap of the white bandage, the dark purple scales looked very eye catching. It was never something he cared much about during his time in the cage, as he was busy dealing with pain and hunger. But before the cage and now, that old question came back and haunting him in a familiar way: what kind of hybrid is he?

***

It wasn’t his intention to stay awake, but his heart was troubled since he woke up. There just so many things going on in such a short span of time that his brain couldn’t process a single one of them other than just laying out what happened.

He stood up for the first time in a long time. Actually standing up, not chained by his wrists and only his toes touching the ground. Despite being skinny to the bones, he felt very heavy, even when he’s holding on the shelf and walls. Walking was an even harder task. It took him almost a minute just to make a single step, and each step made the pain on his back even worse. Nevertheless, he kept walking, from one side to another, from one room to the other. A luxury he lost for a long time.

The house he’s in was a very small house with a living room, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The thick dust and spider webs on the corner of the ceiling showed that the building was long abandoned, with many of the furnitures were broken. Across the house, there’s another house that looked just as abandoned as this one. The road is made of dirt with overgrown grass with no sign of anyone being around. An abandoned village.

The hunter—George—came a few hours ago. Like he said, he brought food and water and a lantern. He just put it on the door and left without saying a single word. It was a baked potato and a bowl of meat stew. The potato had no taste and the stew barely got any meat and too much fat, but it definitely filled his belly, and warm food was a lost memory for him. He wished he had saved some of those berries for the night.

So far, he noticed that he had yet to be hurt. No punches, whip, chains, or any form of torture. All the pain he felt was from the old wounds, and it worried him. Is he accumulating the amount of punishment to be paid in a single day? How much must he pay for the foods and water he got?

The door suddenly banged from the outside. Dream was able to stop himself from jumping and it eased the pain on his back. He looked at the door. The dim light of the lantern made the wooden door looked so creepy.

He grabbed a table leg that he found earlier and grip it tightly while standing up. He doesn’t trust those hunters, but he trusted them enough to not open the door. It might’ve been a good idea to ask what exactly would be going on at night, but he was too blinded by suspicion.

The banging continued for a while that his hands turned white from grabbing the table leg too tightly. He knew well enough to not make any sound, pretend that the house was empty and wait until whatever that is out there left. And ever so slowly, the banging stopped and Dream let out his breath that he unconsciously held, but his relief didn’t last long.

The orange cat came back with a mouse on its mouth. As it dropped the mouse on the floor, the rodent, who was playing dead, ran away and knocked the lantern. The silent of the night was ended by that sound.

The door was slammed open by force, and Dream froze in his place. A man, or something that looks like a man, with green skin and tattered clothes charged towards him. He dodged just at the right moment, but he lost his balance and fell on his back, screaming at the pain. With no room to breathe, that green man charged again at him. Dream used the table leg to held that man back from getting to him. The weight of that man pushed Dream’s back even further to the floor. A cry of pain was inevitable.

Dream had never seen anything grotesque looking like this. The skin on his face was not only green, but it also peeling off, showing rotten flesh underneath. His teeth exposed in a disturbing way without lips to cover it, trying to bite him. On the left side of his face where the eye should be was hollow.

His body gave up very quickly. That man’s face got closer and closer that Dream could smell rotten breath from his mouth. Nothing came into Dream’s head but a death he would never have imagined. He closed his eyes, expecting death to be swift, and as the weight he fought back disappear, he thought death actually did very swift.

He opened his eyes and saw the dirty ceiling again, but no green man he could see. He looked to the side where the green man laid with his head off of his body. Slowly, his body turned into smoke and disappear into the air.

Someone slammed the door shut and the door was banged louder than before. “Sapnap, get something to hold this!” George’s voice.

Dream pushed himself up and saw George holding the door while Sapnap rushed from one room to the door, bringing any sturdy furniture as a barricade. He brought a table with broken legs and the shelves within seconds to the door like it was nothing. The two hunters backed up while the door still being banged, but showed no sign of being able to be opened by force.

George let out a loud breath full of relief as he put down his bow and quiver. “Oh man, there’s a lot of them there.”

Sapnap nodded in agreement. “We need to wait until daytime to get out. It was a good idea we moved the horses before nightfall.”

George turned around, his eyes landed on Dream. “Your back’s bleeding again.” He said, opening his sling bag while approaching him.

Instinctively, Dream swung the table leg, almost hitting George. He backed up to the corner, pointing the wooden leg at George. He almost forgot about his inevitable fate with them, how he’ll be sold to someone. All of that kindness they gave was nothing but an act, he reminded himself.

“Stay away from me!” He shouted, swinging the table leg frantically. His voice was louder and clearer than the last time.

George didn’t go any step further. “Please, listen to me. Your wounds are opening again and I need to check it.”

Sapnap groaned. “Should I just knock him out again? It’ll be easier.”

“No!” George glared at him when he saw Dream’s terrified face. He looked back at Dream. “We won’t hurt you. We wanted to help. Trust me.”

“Liar!” shouted Dream. “You’re all fucking liar!” He swung the table leg so violently it slipped away from his hand and thrown at Sapnap who barely dodged it. “You’re a liar. You’re just gonna take me to a new owner. You’re just gonna put me into new hell. You...you’re just...” Everything went blurry all of sudden.

Tears. Dream cried again. Twice within a single day. He’s certain the punishment he’d get would put him into a dying state. He’s certain he’ll be begging for the pain to stop. He’s certain he’ll scream so loud he’ll lose his voice. He’s certain that he’s...scared.

He’s scared of what might happen next. He wanted everything to stop; the cycle, the pain, the fear. He wanted to actually believe that the kindness George and Sapnap gave to him was genuine, that he won’t need to pay the price for such kindness.

Dream was so lost inside his tears that he didn’t notice George approaching him, and when he looked up, that hunter was already kneeling in front of him. He studied George’s face, from his eyebrow to his rosy lips. It was an expression he’s most unfamiliar with: sympathy.

“Your anger is justified,” he said, looking down. “I know I can never get rid of your hatred, of your sorrow. But if, even just a little, I could make you feel at ease, I’ll gladly do it.”

Dream tensed up when George pulled his dagger. The silvery metal shone in the dim room. He was about to fight again, but immediately stopped when George, instead of pointing the dagger to Dream, he pointed it on himself. On his heart.

“George!” Sapnap shouted, but George lifted one hand, signing him to stop.

“I want you to push this into my heart. Slowly or not, it’s up to you,” said George with a small smile on his face. “Pour your anger and hatred on me. I will take it on.”

Dream stared at the hilt of the dagger, worn out by constant use. His fingers touched the underside of the dagger, felt cold and dangerous. A rush of anger filled his heart. He could do this. Even just a little, he wanted relief. He wanted to pour it out. He wanted to see blood that doesn’t belong to him.

He pulled his hand. He couldn’t do it. It was not as simple as he thought it would be.

Sapnap sighed when George lowered his dagger. “You have issues, you know that,” said Sapnap. “Hey, you, look at me.”

Dream lifted his head up and saw Sapnap took off one of his gloves. He rolled up his long sleeve, showing Dream black fur on his skin. Sapnap tensed his fingers and from the tip of it, claws came out.

He smirked smugly when he saw Dream’s bewildered face. “You’re not the only one here who’s different.” He rolled his sleeve back. “If you can’t trust a human like him, can you trust a fellow hybrid like me?”

Dream looked at George who gave him a smile as warm as the light of the lantern. Genuine. It was not an act. It was real. Everything they did for him.

“I don’t know how much you’ve gone through before, and I’m sorry we didn’t save you earlier,” said George. “But can we please start something new? The three of us. Would you like that?”

Between the shaky breath and trembling body, Dream nodded. Something new, with two people he just met. The risk was beyond his capability of common sense. He was tired, and sad, and hurt. He needed something new, something that he imagined he could hold on to. A hope.

The corner of George’s lips moved upward and turned into a small smile. “Tell me something I didn’t know, and I’ll tell you something you didn’t know.”

George offered his hand. He already took off his gloves, and Dream could see scars on his hand. Hesitantly, he shook it, the small yet sturdy hand.

“My name is George,” said George. “What’s yours?”

This time, without hesitation, he answered, “Dream.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey, can you guess what kind of hybrid Sapnap is? Actually, now that i think about it, does having fur makes your a furry? Anyway, the posts might be slower from now on, I'm currently writing my thesis since I'm in my last semester in college (Yes, I'm old. Yes, I watch the DSMP. Yes, I have existential crisis when thinking about how my life's gonna be after this). I will finish this, dont worry about it, writing is the only thing that keeps me sane. Its not a goodbye, cause I'll see you, my fresh looking strangers, in the next chapter. Until next time, and stay fresh!


	4. Night of The Undead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream, George, and Sapnap left the village but found themselves in deep trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, my fresh looking strangers! How y'all doin?  
> Just recently watched the Origin SMP and holy mother of platypus do I love it. I guess hybrid trope is getting quite popular in Minecraft, eh? I hope mine is just as good OwO. Anyway, lay down and relax, and enjoy the chapter y'all!

Two days later, they left the village. George and Sapnap spent their days looting the abandoned village, collecting food and water, and making more arrows for George. The looting left them with disappointment, but they did gather more than enough food for them, since they now have an additional member who can barely do anything.

Dream spent his time by trying to walk normally with a walking cane that Sapnap made for him. Just like the first time, it was hard to even stand correctly, but he managed to walk from one corner to the other without falling. George has been treating his wounds with various medicines that worked surprisingly well. Dream didn’t know how his back looked like, but it sure felt less painful, so he took it as a good news.

They spent the nights together in a new building with more furniture that could be used to barricade the door. They tried to get to know one another—Sapnap’s idea—that turned into a one-sided interrogation on Dream. George’s questions were all normal, like how old is and where he came from, while Sapnap asked if Dream ever had cockroaches as food. But the two of them had one same question: what kind of hybrid is he?

“I don’t know,” said Dream. “I thought maybe you know something about it.” He was a bit upset when those two shook their heads, but not disappointed. After that, they taught Dream about the variety of mobs, especially the ones at night, such as zombies, skeletons, spiders (this one confuses Dream so much), creepers, and more.

Sapnap who led the way stopped his horse near a small river. He dismounted from the brown horse and stretched his body. “Let’s take a break here for now.”

George, who was riding with Dream, directed the horse to a nearby tree. He dismounted and tied the horse lead to a tree, then he turned to Dream who was still on the horse. He lifted his hands towards Dream.

“Get off slowly. I’ll catch you.”

Dream shifted his weight to the side. His hands reached George’s shoulder, then pushed himself off the horse. He felt George’s hands catched his body and slowly put him to the ground. Much to his surprise, George was stronger than his looks, despite how Dream was sure enough of how lean his shoulders were.

With George’s help, Dream walked to the river and sat on a rock, dipping his feet into the shallow water. The river was crystal clear and cold, despite being in the middle of the summer. Fishes passed by his feet, their slimy body brushed against his skin. They swam away when Sapnap jumped onto them, splashing water all over the place.

“Hey! I’m taking out the map!” shouted George. His hair and clothes were wet, luckily, the map he held was not.

Sapnap grinned. He cupped his hands and took a handful of water and threw it at George. His scream fascinated Dream, as it could scare away even mobs.

“Chill out a lil’ bit.” Sapnap washed his face and hair. “The map won’t change all of sudden. We’re on the right track. We have food. We’re good.” A small pebble hit Sapnap on the forehead.

“We ran out of bandages. The abandoned village back then did not have enough. I can’t treat Dream’s wound without it.”

Sapnap threw back a pebble, but missed. “Then what about it? You wanna use the map as a bandage substitute?”

“No.” He took out a compass and placed it on the map, watching the needle pointing to the north. “I was thinking that maybe, if we keep on moving, we’ll get to the town before tomorrow.”

“Hell no!” said Sapnap. “You expect us to go at night? In the woods? We barely stand our ground in that village, and you want to fight all night?”

The two of them argued with logical statements from both sides. Dream watched as Sapnap now stood over George. His body is so big that his clothing almost too small for him. Is this a side effect of being a panda hybrid, Dream asked himself.

He touched his shoulder where his fingers met a soft fabric of a white shirt they gave him back in the village. A big boulder of guilt plunged into the bottom of his stomach. They’ve been nothing but nice to him, and his very presence caused them to fight.

“Let’s just stay the night.”

The two hunters looked at Dream weirdly. The guy rarely spoke first since his last panic attack in the village, and most of it were thank yous and sorries. Dream looked away, his sun burnt face reddened in embarrassment.

“I’ll be okay. I…I’m used with wounds not being treated.”

Sapnap’s eyebrows raised in agreement, but his eyes showed concern. He left to get the tents off of his horse while George stared blankly at the map. Dream got a feeling that he might’ve hurt George’s feeling, and was surprised when he folded the map and approached him.

“May I sit?” George sat on a smaller rock next to Dream after being allowed. “I’m sorry I was a bit pushy there, even though I know mobs don’t usually appear near water sources. You need rest more than anything, and I…”

The words were left unfinished, and Dream was okay with that. Apologies felt distant and foregin to him, even when he knew it was honest. It was him who always needed to apologize for every single thing he did, yet he was still being punished for that.

He stared at the water. His reflection was unclear because of the flowing water, but he remembered how he looked when he saw it on the mirror back in the village.

His dirty blond hair is long and unkept, even after being tied to a ponytail, he looked horrible. There are bags under his eyes and dark circles as companions. A long scar went from his right cheek down to the jaw. On the left side of his face, those scales covered some part of it. Not a single inch of his face would be acceptable if he shows it in town.

A small pebble hit his hand. He turned his head and saw George offering him a wooden bowl. No, it’s a mask, with a leather strap on it.

“Try it on.”

Dream took the mask and examined it. The wooden mask has two holes on it for the eyes, and the front side had a smile carved on it so smoothly. A very simple mask, yet so good. When he put it on, the size of the holes were perfect and he could breathe just as normal without much problem, although it’s a bit tight on the strap.

“To hide the scales when we’re in town,” said George. “You can pretend to be a mercenary. They don’t show their faces a lot, so people won’t bother you for wearing a mask.”

Dream lifted the mask up. There’s an unspoken pride within George’s smile that warmed him from within. He made the mask for him all this time without getting caught, because he knew Dream gonna need it.

“Thank you,” said Dream, smiling. “I like it.”

George shrugged with a smug look on his face. “You should like it. I’m quite talented in that.”

Two pair of pebbles hit them both on the head. They turned to see Sapnap struggling with the tents.

“These things ain’t gonna build themselves, you know?”

George sighed and stood up from his place. He told Dream to just sit back and rest, but Dream felt that he had enough rest. He needed to get used to moving his body again by doing small things like this. But having three people to set the tents does not mean it’ll set up faster, as those three spent more time messing around than doing the actual job.

***

There was nothing but the soothing sound of the river and insects in the woods, yet Dream was wide awake. He was laying face down to keep as little pressure on his back, as George told him. The wounds on his torso healed almost twice as fast, perhaps because it’s less severe, and that was a relief for George as they finally ran out of bandages.

Dream periodically closed his eyes, going to the corner of his head, and waited until sleep embraced him. Each time he opened his eyes, he was met with George’s face, sleeping so peacefully but snoring like a boar. He shared tents with George because Sapnap’s too big for the tent to be filled with two people. A blessing and a curse for being a panda hybrid, Sapnap told him before going to sleep.

As time went by, Dream fully gave up with his attempt to sleep. He couldn’t change position, so he’s stuck facing George for the rest of the night. In the very limited vision he had, he examined George’s face by his sight and memory to kill the time.

Despite travelling often, George had a snow white skin that belongs to people who live in the cold biome, based on what Dream read in a book when he was a kid. His nose was sharp like he knew everything by smelling it. Rosy lips with a scar that cut a bit on the side, and smaller ones on the chin and under his left eye. The lips might’ve been his main feature if someone took a glance on him, but if they look more carefully, his main feature was his eyes.

The brown right eye and the blue left eye. A captivating combination that burned deep inside Dream’s head. It was like seeing two people at the same time, two sides that could take him to a different kind of demise. A beautiful danger.

Then, everything was shattered when Sapnap roughly opened up their tent and George glared awake.

“Get up! We have to go!” Sapnap had his sword in hand. If it were just an attack, he wouldn’t have woken them up like this. Unless, it was not a normal attack. “It's a siege! Get what’s important and ride!”

George jumped up and got out of the tent. Dream tried to get up as quickly as possible, but his movement was still limited. He grabbed his mask and decided to crawl out and found George and Sapnap had their weapon out while quickly taking everything they could.

“Dream, come on!” Sapnap lift him up with one hand while the other held a bag of stuff, but he froze in place.

Dream couldn’t see what’s going on, but he heard the horses screamed in pain and loud groans that the zombies made. He slowly lowered to the ground, and when he finally turned around, he was frozen stiff.

From the way they came, dozens of those green zombies came towards them, and he could count a few white figures with a bow on one hand: the skeletons. Not only that, they were surrounded.

“How in the hell does this happen?” George aimed his arrows. “We're not even near a village!”

One zombie marched towards them and fell with an arrow in their head. Another one moved and was sliced by Sapnap. Even then, their numbers didn’t seem to change a little bit.

Arrows rained on one side of the siege. The zombies fell one after another, though still many, their number on that side has decreased a lot. The skeletons returned fire in a less accurate shot, but made it up by the numbers. Sapnap blocked some arrows from hitting Dream with his bag while George dodged and shot his arrows at those skeletons.

Dream was lifted again from the ground and put over Sapnap's shoulder.

“Cover me, I’ll go first.” Sapnap dashed forward, pushing aside zombies that tried to get them, with George in the back shooting arrows.

When George told him to keep as little pressure as possible on his back, he thought he was just being overly worried, and Dream regret downplaying it. With each step Sapnap took and each swing of his sword at those zombies, sharp pain stung his back. However, the pain was not as bad as when Sapnap stopped.

“Dream, can you run?” Sapnap’s voice was out of breath. He grunted when he swung his sword. “I can hold them here, but I need you to run as fast as you can.”

It was without question Dream was burdening him. Carrying him while running and fighting a bunch of creatures who can’t feel pain was a terrible combination. The least he could do was ease the burden a bit by doing what he was asked, even if he wasn’t sure if he'd make it or not.

Sapnap lowered him to the ground, and quickly dashed towards those zombies and swung his sword.

Dream ran when Sapnap gave him a signal. He pushed himself forward, with all the strength he had. The pain on his back slowed him down, and his body not even ready for moving too much, but he kept on going. Sapnap’s taunt took the attention of the zombies, giving him a clear path to run.

The silence of the night felt so distant with the grunts of zombies all around him and the sound of the two hunters fighting them off. Dream never looked back. He ran, and he ran, until he didn’t know what he felt.

They’ll be okay, he told himself. They're capable of doing this, they’ll be fine. He just needs to be safe. He…

He stopped.

It may have felt like eternity, but he didn’t reach far. He looked back to where the zombies who ignored him rushed to. To Sapnap. To George.

He didn’t know why, or how to put it. Even when knowing how indebted he was, going back there would do nothing, it may even make the situation worse. But he did. He turned and ran back twice as fast. He no longer felt the pain as everything went numb.

He pushed those zombies aside and he saw Sapnap surrounded by those green mobs, without his sword and covered in wounds, fighting with only his fists. He looked bigger and the fur on his arms seemed to grow longer. Dream grabbed on and pulled it off of the hunter. He still needed to help George too.

Those zombies behind him pulled his shirt. Their nails scratched his skin, ripped off his bandages. A new wave of pain crashing in, but he couldn’t feel it.

It was quite a fight for Dream, but numbers beat them down. Those zombies took him down, and Dream finally felt the wounds he took, but he didn’t scream. He fought, even though he couldn’t see what he hit until he ran out of strength.

He heard Sapnap screamed his name, then George. Terror filled their voice, but somehow Dream was glad to hear that. Even after all those times being in the cage where every person looked at him in disgust, he was still wanted. Wanted by people whom he just met. People who treated him with kindness. His freedom was short, but it was worth it.

As his consciousness slowly fading away, he saw a glimpse of glowing red passing by, and he fell into the deep darkness with people calling for his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey, my grammar sucks like a vacuum cleaner. I had an idea of writing a werewolf story at midnight, and in the middle of world building, I kinda asked myself if werewolves are considered as furry or not? That thought stuck in my head until morning, like, why is my brain like this? Oh well, contemplating time i guess. Sleep well and stay fresh!


	5. Idiot Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream finds himself still alive in a place he would never have imagined

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, my fresh looking strangers! How y'all doin?  
> It took me a while to post this because of thesis, and also I'm babysitting my nephews during pandemic everyday except Sunday, so I pretty much don't have much free time and my mental state gets more questionable with each day passing. Fascinating, isn't it? Anyway, enjoy the chapter y'all!

Everything was warm and fuzzy. Is this afterlife, Dream thought. He expected it’d be a lot colder, or hotter, since hell was the only place he could think of if he ever died. But everything was warm and comfy, something he hadn’t felt for a long time, until a little bit of his consciousness came and he felt pain all over his body.

He opened his eyes and saw a wooden ceiling. He turned his head and scanned the area as far as his eyes could. Next to him was a small table and two empty beds. The walls and floors that he could see were made out of wood of various types. He looked down over the red blanket on top of him, there he found another three beds across his side and a table between them facing the window. Someone in a white coat and black hood was sitting there writing something.

Dream was about to call that person but held himself back. He didn’t know what kind of place he’s at. That person might be bad. He needed to stay quiet until he knew what to do. He tried to remember what happened first before making any moves.

He was in the forest. There was what was called a siege. They fought. Then he lost his consciousness.

_ George and Sapnap _ .

He panicked at the worst time. A new wave of pain came by and he pushed himself from the bed. The combination of the two pain caused him to scream, but he managed to muffled it by biting his lips. However, that alerted the person on the table.

That person stood up. Dream couldn’t see him clearly through the red dots on his vision, but he saw that person removed his hood. “Ah, you’re awake.” The voice belonged to a boy. He sounded rather happy. “Just in time, I was finishing your medicine.”

Dream gritted his teeth. His body felt like burning, almost paralyzing. His forehead started sweating even though it’s not that hot.

That person put his hand on Dream’s forehead and pushed him gently to the pillow. “Take it easy. Zombie’s scratches are not dangerous, but some will cause irritation.” He went back to the table and took a syringe filled with clear liquid inside. “But I’ve never seen something like...yours. Anyway, hold still.”

The needle pierced the skin on Dream’s arm and the burning pain slowly faded away. He didn’t realize he was breathing so fast when the pain disappeared. At last, he opened his eyes and looked at that person. If he had more energy, he might’ve gave a better reaction over seeing that person.

That person was a boy with black charcoal skin and short hair. His eyes were glowing red like smelted iron without irises. On the sides of his head was a pair of bat ears, long and pointy. A hybrid.

“I guess you’re still trying to comprehend what is going on,” said that boy. “Well, for starters, my name is Bad. I’m a doctor here. We saved you and your friends.”

Dream flinched. He did think that this person might be bad, but he didn’t expect that his name would actually be Bad.

“Where…” Dream felt like he ran out of breath, might be an effect of the thing he just got injected. “They. Where are…” He couldn’t finish his words.

That guy—Bad—nodded. “That painkiller is also a sedative, so I’m sorry that you’re feeling out of breath,” said Bad. “Your friends are fine. They woke up like five hours ago, and I had to force them to leave the room because they kept forcing you to wake up. Especially that panda guy.” He sighed with so much frustration. “Overly worried, may I say.”

The world felt slower, and it was hard to keep attention into one thing. Dream tried to blink away the sedative effect with little result. At most, he kept himself from falling asleep.

“I...I wanna see them.” He tried to get up, but from the lack of reaction from Bad, he knew he gave a futile act of stubborness. His fingers were the only part of his body that he could move freely.

Bad nodded. “I’ll call them here, but you can’t talk for too long, or else I will have to take desperate measures. And I assure you, you do not want to make me use desperate measures.” He left Dream terrified on his bed.

Dream sighed, and he couldn’t tell if it was out of relief or stress. He was glad to know those two were doing fine, but being unable to move just made him anxious. How long must he wait? Where exactly is he? What will happen next? Question after question appeared until his brain decided it’s better to just try to move his limbs again than being swallowed by uncertainty.

Bad took longer than Dream thought to call for George and Sapnap that the painkiller wore off. His wounds screamed again, but not as bad as before. That surge of pain came along with his ability to move his body a bit better. It was worth the price.

He was about to change his position when his eyes caught a movement on the opened door. He moved his head a little and saw something that he could only assume was a wagging tail. Dream felt like he should pretend he didn’t see anything, but hearing whispers from outside the door just made him talk.

“I can see your...tail.”

The tail stiffened, and someone whispered “I told you to pull your tail!” and followed by “Shut up man! I’ll bite Squeeks again!”

After a brief fight behind the scene, two heads peeked from the side of the door frame. Both of them were boys; the one on the top had blonde hair with two dog ears on the top of his head, and the bottom one had brown hair with a pair of goat horns growing on the side of his head. The dog boy stared at him with the look of someone who wanted to stab something, while the goat boy looked too pure for this world. The two of them were holding a wooden crutch.

The dog boy pointed the crutch at Dream. His eyes squinted so hard as if he needed glasses to see. “Don’t move a muscle, this is an interrogation!”

“We’re like ten feet away from him, and you’re using a crutch to threaten him. I’ll be amused if he actually feels threatened in the slightest.”

The goat boy was correct, Dream said to himself.

The dog boy nudged his friend with the crutch still pointed at Dream. “He’ll be threatened when he knows what I could do with these,” said the dog boy. “Now talk, who are you and where did you came fr—”

The goat boy moved behind the dog boy and gave a headbutt to his back. It didn’t look that hard, but from the dog boy’s reaction, it must be more than painful. Then, he picked up the crutch his friend dropped and took it to Dream.

“Tubbo, you dick! That hurts!” shouted the dog boy.

The goat boy called Tubbo ignored him. “Bad told us to get these for you. This is the only one we have for now, so he wanna make sure if it’s not too short.” He put the crutches at the edge of the bed. “My name is Tubbo, and that lousy one is Tommy. What’s your name?”

Dream stared at Tubbo for a while, finding comfort in the gentleness within his eyes. George gave him a similar look, but it was more out of pity. Tubbo's eyes filled with curiosity instead, wandering and wondering. When he looked at the dog boy called Tommy, he instead saw a raccoon with anger issues.

“Dream,” he said when Tubbo started to look at him weird.

Tommy pulled Tubbo to his back and hissed at Dream. His tail standing straight when he growled, showing his teeth with the fangs longer than the average human. It was the least intimidating thing he ever saw, but he still acted like the intimidation worked, just to be polite.

“Don’t get too close to him. We don’t know what he is yet.” He scrunched his eyebrows so hard that it formed one single long eyebrow. “He could be poisonous. He might be a pufferfish!”

Dream scoffed.

Tubbo spun his eyes. “Yeah, he clearly looks like one.”

“Having fun with our guest?”

All eyes went to the door. Bad came back with George and Sapnap. The two of them no longer wearing their hunter outfit, but instead a plain white t-shirt and pants, with bandages around their arms.

Bad went to the table and took a stethoscope, he wore it around his neck and sat on the edge of Dream’s bed. “You two should go check on Quackity, especially you Tommy. I heard him serenading Henry again. It scares the chickens too.”

“That son of a bitch!”

“Language!” shouted Bad, but the two boys already left. He sighed and turned back to Dream. He unbuttoned Dream’s shirt and put the metallic cylinder on his bandaged chest. Not long, he took off the stethoscope and stood up with an interested face. “The painkiller worn out, huh? I could give you more if it gets too painful. Would you like it?”

Dream shook his head. “I’ll be fine.”

Bad gave him a smile before turned to George and Sapnap. “I will leave you alone for a while, so please try to keep it down and don’t let him stand until I get back. He can sit, but that’s all.” Bad left after George nodded without saying a word. He closed the door when he left.

As soon as they’re alone in the room, Dream switched his position to sit. His body was still hard to move, but he managed to lift half of his body until George helped him. He felt his blood flowed to his legs dangling on the edge of the bed, sending ticklish numbness to his toes.

The wooden floor made a small echo when Sapnap approached him, he wore black shoes that were a bit too small for him, which interested Dream more than looking at him. Dream dared not to look at Sapnap. He knew for a fact that the guy must be angry. He did not, however, expected to be punched on the face.

“Ouch.”

“You fucking moron!” Sapnap punched again, but Dream dodged. His face was covered in small scratches and bruises, but overall he looked fine “I told you to run! We would’ve been okay! We-we— _ you _ could’ve been killed!” He punched again and it hit.

“Isn’t there a better way to talk about it without punching me?” Dream punched Sapnap in the stomach, but that guy’s like a wall of steel.

Sapnap walked away from Dream, clearly still distressed over what he did. Dream looked at the bed next to his where George sat with his elbows resting on his knees and his face on his palms. His black hair looked shiny and ruffled, looking almost as stressful as Sapnap.

After a while, George lifted his face up. His condition didn’t look any worse than Sapnap’s, much to Dream’s relief, despite George’s expression telling him he shouldn’t be relieved.

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” said George. “The most idiotic idiot in the history of idiocy.”

Dream was not sure if that was even a sentence, but he smiled. What he did back then was nothing more than a gamble of life and death. He knew he would’ve died not long after if he had ran away, and running back would only bring death closer, but at least those who saved him get to live. “I’m glad I know that now.”

With what strength he had, he pushed himself up to stand. He felt the bones in his legs turned into jelly and the floor tilting, and he lost footing. He braced himself to hit the floor, but instead he felt warm hands grabbing him, stopping him from falling. He looked at George and Sapnap who glared at him angrily.

Out of instinct that he thought he had lost long ago, he wrapped his arms around his two friends. Their body felt warm in his arms, and their scent filled with life. For once, he could let out his weight without fear of falling. For once, he closed his eyes without going into the corner of his mind. For once, he was glad he lived.

“Thank you.”

The door opened before any of the two were able to reply, and Bad shouted at them. “I told you no standing until I get back!” He forced them to put Dream back onto the bed. “You had one job and you can’t even do it right!”

Dream giggled when Bad got even more upset by George and Sapnap’s reaction. “Bad, did you know Sapnap punched me right after you left?”

There have never been anything louder than Bad’s scream that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey, I finally add the muffin boy and the dynamic duo. Praise the Prime God. I posted this around midnight in where I live, and I wanna add something interesting or funny at the end note but my brain is fried and I feel like I'm drunk even though I don't drink. Alrighty then, don't sleep too late at night y'all, and stay fresh!


End file.
